Went for the night session for a while last night. Saw part of the Rosol-Hewitt match, then someone who looked like Ryan Harrison practicing with his father (someone said it was his brother). Bopanna and Rampras were supposed to start practice on Court 3, but never showed up - someone said they were in the restaurant.

Do me a favor. Don't let any of the big names lose before I get there!!!

Click to expand...

Hey Cindy, the shuttle passes by your Esmeralda "resort" every time. If that is a resort, then I am Federer. The Best Western next door is also calling itself a resort. There should be some law against this.

Main differences from club players are: reaction speed, depth of shot, and lower height over the net. In contradiction to what some people claim, modern pros still have lower heights over the net and avoid the loopy club shot. It did not go away with Chrissie and Connors.

Depth of shot is still very noticeable, again contradicting some coaches.

And another thing is they contact the sweetspot most of the time.

I did not see real "wow" shots till the Rosol-Hewitt match. Some of the Rosol forehands were unreal.

Your kidding about the average age right? Oh wait, it is Florida; "The Elderly State".

Click to expand...

No, it is California.

IW is known for this, but you have to experience it. Place is just full of rich old people who have retired here or come here for the desert lifestyle of golf and tennis. I went to a restaurant/bar last night, and only the waiters looked to be below 60.

Re: the picture: Imagine a pant-suit combination but with so many large openings that it seems it could slide and come off any time.

Went for the night session for a while last night. Saw part of the Rosol-Hewitt match, then someone who looked like Ryan Harrison practicing with his father (someone said it was his brother). Bopanna and Rampras were supposed to start practice on Court 3, but never showed up - someone said they were in the restaurant.

Click to expand...

We were at that match. It was fun. You should have went to the gulbis/lopez match after that which was good too.

Main differences from club players are: reaction speed, depth of shot, and lower height over the net. In contradiction to what some people claim, modern pros still have lower heights over the net and avoid the loopy club shot. It did not go away with Chrissie and Connors.

Depth of shot is still very noticeable, again contradicting some coaches.

And another thing is they contact the sweetspot most of the time.

I did not see real "wow" shots till the Rosol-Hewitt match. Some of the Rosol forehands were unreal.

Went into the TW tent again today and hit with a Technifiber 325 and the Wilson 6.1 95. There is a big line to hit in the demo court. I believe it was Chris who said he would hit with anyone personally, but most people seemed to find hitting partners amongst themselves. Time is limited and a clock runs down. You will get your chance in less than 10 minutes of waiting.

Watched Wozniaki, Sloane Stephens, Taylor Townsend, and that new woman from Alabama who played Fed Cup.

Watched Karlovic serve (I was behind and above the back fence). It is something not to be missed. That sound is unique. It might be a 100 years before another 6'11" guy shows up, so don't miss this. That trajectory has to be seen to be believed.

Rampras and Bopanna were hitting. Stephen Amritraj was around. Rampras is really tall. Bopanna's volleys are incredible. There seems to be some business connection between these guys through agents and there was some shop talk going on. I think Rampras and Bopanna are the last of the classic players.

Then Gasquet and Nalbandian showed up. So was able to see 3 one handers in a row (Rampras/Bopanna/Gasquet).

Then a huge crowd settled down to watch Murray, then Del Po. Murray did some complicated exercise on court with some equipment. Del Po does hit incredibly hard forehands. He pleased the crowd with his balls and autographs after the session.

And finally the GOAT arrived at 4 pm for a 2 hr session. He first did a soccer dribble with a ball and sent it to the crowd, which was in a frenzy waiting for him. Then the practice began. The ball turned more oblong by the minute with top spin. One thing I noticed though is that he is limping when walking, but not when playing. I hope his knee is healed and the limp is just psychological.

Then saw Carla Suarez Navarro playing soccer with some guys.

Saw Taylor Dent, Robert Lansdorp and other familiar faces here and there.

Watched Wozniaki, Sloane Stephens, Taylor Townsend, and that new woman from Alabama who played Fed Cup.

Watched Karlovic serve (I was behind and above the back fence). It is something not to be missed. That sound is unique. It might be a 100 years before another 6'11" guy shows up, so don't miss this. That trajectory has to be seen to be believed.

Rampras and Bopanna were hitting. Stephen Amritraj was around. Rampras is really tall. Bopanna's volleys are incredible. There seems to be some business connection between these guys through agents and there was some shop talk going on. I think Rampras and Bopanna are the last of the classic players.

Then Gasquet and Nalbandian showed up. So was able to see 3 one handers in a row (Rampras/Bopanna/Gasquet).

Then a huge crowd settled down to watch Murray, then Del Po. Murray did some complicated exercise on court with some equipment. Del Po does hit incredibly hard forehands. He pleased the crowd with his balls and autographs after the session.

And finally the GOAT arrived at 4 pm for a 2 hr session. He first did a soccer dribble with a ball and sent it to the crowd, which was in a frenzy waiting for him. Then the practice began. The ball turned more oblong by the minute with top spin. One thing I noticed though is that he is limping when walking, but not when playing. I hope his knee is healed and the limp is just psychological.

Then saw Carla Suarez Navarro playing soccer with some guys.

Saw Taylor Dent, Robert Lansdorp and other familiar faces here and there.

Click to expand...

yea i know what you mean regarding fed. the longer he played the more oblong the ball became. it was pretty cool.

My shuttle bus also seems to be the umpire's bus. Including line umpires. Wilson has given them blue backpacks with Umpire written on it. Yesterday, one line judge admitted on the bus that his "brain was drained" and he missed two line calls on the service line. Apparently, the chair umpire reports such incidents in his/her "report."

Once the bus had left, when they started shouting: Stop stop there is an umpire who just showed up. They seem to be a tight-knit bunch. Don't know if woodrow is reading this.

But to repeat, you have not seen tennis unless you have seen Karlovic serve up close. We were behind and top of the fence - so he was like a giraffe in a zoo enclosure and we could look down on his head. From that angle, you have to see what he does.

One interesting thing is he moves his fingers on the grip at the end of the backswing. I think he still remains conti but he makes some kind of adjustment.

After observing several players, I noticed something about flat serves which has not been discussed before. I think I will create a thread in the Tips section.

What causes the oblong shape? I had an interesting discussion with a guy during the Nadal practice. Top spin causes the ball to go down due to the Magnus effect - more pressure (less air speed) on the top than the bottom. Is this the same reason for the compression of the ball vertically giving rise to the oblong shape.

This guy also went on and on about how he asked Dennis Ralston about modern pro forehands and was told that the secret was a wrist bend and then a movement of the last two fingers (the ones closer to the ground) which provided the extra force into the ball. Don't know about that.

What causes the oblong shape? I had an interesting discussion with a guy during the Nadal practice. Top spin causes the ball to go down due to the Magnus effect - more pressure (less air speed) on the top than the bottom. Is this the same reason for the compression of the ball vertically giving rise to the oblong shape.

This guy also went on and on about how he asked Dennis Ralston about modern pro forehands and was told that the secret was a wrist bend and then a movement of the last two fingers (the ones closer to the ground) which provided the extra force into the ball. Don't know about that.

Click to expand...

regular ol' centrifugal force. the 12 and 6 areas of the ball are travelling faster than 3-9 areas. so after a certain threshold is reached the pull of the 6-12 is strong enough to stretch the ball.

Karlovic serving, Rampras and Bopanna playing. Rampras and Bopanna are so smooth. It is a pity they cannot compete against the big guns.

Click to expand...

I once watched Karlovic play on court 6 and I had a seat right at the top of the backstop. We almost got pegged by a few high bouncing down the line serves. That guy is the most impressive server I've ever seen even though it seems like he hardly swings at the ball.

I once watched Karlovic play on court 6 and I had a seat right at the top of the backstop. We almost got pegged by a few high bouncing down the line serves. That guy is the most impressive server I've ever seen even though it seems like he hardly swings at the ball.

Click to expand...

Very good observation. He doesn't look like he is putting any effort. He also contacts in the sweetspot, not at the tip, in most cases. I think his height and arm length give him a lever-arm effect on the speed of the ball which no one else can get. He also does something with his fingers (like readjustment) at the end of the back swing.

we are going tomorrow, have day and night loge tickets. Planning on leaving San Diego around 7, getting to IW around 930. Any good, cheap places to eat in the area for going in? How's the food on the grounds? Also, I assume there will be a break between day and night sessions, what can we do during that time?

we are going tomorrow, have day and night loge tickets. Planning on leaving San Diego around 7, getting to IW around 930. Any good, cheap places to eat in the area for going in? How's the food on the grounds? Also, I assume there will be a break between day and night sessions, what can we do during that time?

Click to expand...

Plenty of restaurants in the area. Among the fast food places, I remember a BK, Del Taco and Panda Express. These are closer to 74 & 111, rather than the part of 111 closer to the Tennis Garden. So I would suggest eating there before going in.

Food on the grounds is not bad. Usual stuff, maybe slightly more upscale than expected. The pizza place is not bad.

Plenty of restaurants in the area. Among the fast food places, I remember a BK, Del Taco and Panda Express. These are closer to 74 & 111, rather than the part of 111 closer to the Tennis Garden. So I would suggest eating there before going in.

Food on the grounds is not bad. Usual stuff, maybe slightly more upscale than expected. The pizza place is not bad.

Click to expand...

I usually like to grab a sub and bring it in around 10:30...there are also a few other quick places to get a to-go order.

Here's a google map of some fast food places (along rt 111) there are a few small shopping centers that are good, quick.

I'd recommend going early, as the line for General Parking starts looking like "rush hour traffic" by 11:30-1pm and 3:30-5pm in the afternoon...btw, the middle lane on Washington does let you turn left and is generally faster too